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Making jewelry has always intimidated me, thankfully these earrings can be put together in a pinch and make for a perfect gift, Just think of the possibilities, you could use school colors, give it a holiday theme, go ombre, or keep it simple and go all black!

These earrings have become my newest crafting obsession! I want to make a pair for me, my daughter, my sister, etc.. I tried out a couple different methods and because a pictures sometimes explains it better than my words can the following tutorial is, um, very visual.

This was the first technique is below, it creates a looser earrings meaning the washers twist easily.

Technique two, below, created a much tighter earring, the washers barely moved. However, it was hard to cover the connections. While I preferred technique one my daughter liked the second better, go figure.

Whichever technique you chose when it comes time to connect the actual earring all I did was tie it on. Just be sure that if your earring has a ‘back’ side you tie the earring on so that it will hang correctly.

I can’t wait to make more of these as Christmas gifts! I’m thinking we might also have to make a necklace or two!

Guess what a ton of other bloggers are sharing their homemade gift ideas too! Check them out and while you're at it be sure to enter the giveaway!

Air-dry clay ornaments were on the schedule today and a couple were made last weekend, but a funny thing happened while we were cutting, coiling, and shaping. Instead of sticking to an idea of what we should be making we just…made. It’s been a while since I’ve found a project that so utterly consumed everyone’s attention like that. It reminded me of why we started making ornaments.

It was nice.

So today I don’t have a tutorial to share with you, instead it’s just a picture of the kids making and molding, and a bit of advice. Whether it’s ornaments, a poem, a mudpie, or a friend…

I hope you’ve enjoyed the No Ugly Ornament Challenge as much as we have!

Hmm, these look suspiciously like those elves everyone sits on their shelves…

Let me explain, growing up there were two ornaments on my grandparents tree that always grabbed my attention. One was an umbrella (yep, tried unsuccessfully to make one like it – maybe next year) and the other was a kind of elf with long bendable legs and arms.

After finishing the elf and realizing I’d created exactly what I wanted to – one the first try no less – I was sitting at the table, completely full of myself, when my son walked by and said, “Cool, you made Gladys some friends.” Gladys is our Elf on the Shelf. Crud…that’s when I realized I had indeed made a rather crafty, DIY-ish version of that sometimes loved, sometimes despised elf.

Similarities aside, I’m still so happy with these guys and THEY ARE intended to be ornaments you can pose on your tree branches, I swear! Here’s how you can make your own!

Earlier this fall I picked up a package of flat leaves at the Dollar Store thinking they’d be perfect for crafting – and they are, but I didn’t think the first project I’d be sharing with you would be a Christmas ornament!

Paint dipped feathers are being used in home décor every where you turn these days so why not turn this trend into an ornament?

I’ve been loving the minimalist look lately and one of the decorating elements it uses is altered nature pieces, think painted branches, faux animal trophy, yarn bombed rocks, and of course feathers. Most of the feathers I’ve seen are dipped and/or painted using gold paint, which I will show in the video though it’s hard to see because of the brightness issue (sorry). To give the project a holiday feel I also used red and green paints to decorate the feathers. While I used a simple Christmas ornament hook for hanging you could also use colored wire (find it at your local dollar store) to keep with the festive feel!

Rolled magazine pages are a classic recycled crafting resource, there’s just so much you can do with them! After you’ve rolled up a page or two it only takes a few minutes to glue them together and create unique ornaments like these! In fact since it took me less than 15 minutes to put these two together they’re the perfect Craft Lightning – Holiday Edition Series project!

Supplies Needed:

Magazines

Paper cutter or scissors

hot glue

tape runner

ribbon

Directions
First up, cut a couple magazine pages into two inch wide strips.

Next up fold and/or roll the strips so that instead of being two inches wide, they’re barely half an inch. Below I’m using the tape runner to hold the folds together, it’ll make things easier down the road.

Once you’re strips are all folded up you can roll them them into circles and/or create Vs like the one below.

Now, using your hot glue gun, start putting them together in whatever pattern you fancy.

A word of caution, these pieces can get heavy if you put too many together, resister the urge to go BIG!

Once you’re done creating your design simply glue the ribbon to the back. Now you’re ready to hang in on the tree or use it to decorate a gift!

Another week, another ornament! I have to tell you, every time I start this challenge I think I’m going to run out of ideas or get tired of ornaments but I NEVER DO! All it takes is an afternoon of tinkering and I’m overwhelmed with inspiration.

I have to admit, before I started this year’s challenge I scoured home décor sites reading up on forecasted trends and (here’s a shocker) for the most part is was the same old thing we see every year. I mean let’s face it, Christmas is classic and there aren’t many ‘looks’ that haven’t been done. That said there was something that caught my eye.

For the longest time the country look was, well…dated. Thankfully that is no longer the case, today’s country is more like a hipster folk song than a bedazzled country ballad. Natural elements are being introduced into home décor in unusual and quirky ways that are simply fun and chic!

These wood bead ornaments fit right into this new ‘country’ look! Here’s a video showing how they were made.

I’m simply smitten with this little ballerina ornament! Isn’t she a cutie? Wait until you read what went into making her!

Supplies

clothespin

pipe cleaner

embroidery floss

cotton ball

glue

paint

Directions

I actually started this ornament by making the arms. All you have to do is wrap a piece of pipe cleaner, about 4 inches, with the embroidery floss. (Psst, prepare to see other projects using this technique!)

Once it was completely covered I wrapped the two ends together, making an oval shape. I tied off the floss and used a tiny dap of fabric glue to hold the knot in place.

Next up I took the clothespin apart, flipped it around, and glued the two pieces of wood together.

I attached the arms by folding the pipe cleaner and sticking it in one of the holes between the two clothespin.

I thought I was going to have trouble with that darn tu-tu again but after cleaning up the bathroom it finally hit me, why not just use a cotton ball?

It was easy to shape into a kind of doughnut and actually stuck to the wood of the clothespin so there was no need to add any glue.

It wasn’t exactly as I planned but it was still definitely tree-worthy! So I guess two out three ornaments this week isn’t doing too bad!

Next week not only will I be bringing you three more ornament ideas I’m also going to be sharing a DIY gift idea as part of the 99+Handmade Gifts Week being hosted by 365 Days of Crafts and Always Expect Moore. I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Speaking of fun holiday projects, did you catch my Winter Wonderland Wreath over at Create.Craft.Love.? Jill is hosting a month long Winter Wreath Workshop you’ll want to be sure to check out!

Despite a few setbacks I’m still determined to come up with at least three dance-themed ornaments. Thankfully I think I’ve found a winner in this little slipper!

The hardest part of this project was drawing a template for the slipper and foot, but after spending an hour, or two, staring and sketching feet I finally came up with one that’s not too bad.

Supplies

Foot and slipper template

beige and pink felt

pink embroidery thread

needle

fabric glue

ribbon

scissors

Directions
Using the template I began by cutting out two feet from the beige felt and two slippers from the pink. NOTE: This template is nothing special, as if you couldn’t already tell, but it works! Just right click the image, save it or copy it, and then paste it into a doc. You can resize/print it from there.

I sandwiched everything together and began sewing a basic blanket stitch around the outside of the foot. Across the top of the slipper I used a running stitch.

With the slipper secure on the foot, I opened up the beige felt, and added a bit of fabric glue along with the ribbon-folded over.

After about a day of dry time I cleaned up the edges and gave it a trim so that it all lined up.
Considering how easy this ornament turned out I think I might come up with at least one more felt design before the month’s over!